Letters, Riddles, Surprises, and Soup
by The Pyrat
Summary: A collection of short-stories about the Wammy's House Boys. Made of equal parts L, Beyond Birthday, Mello, Matt, and Near, a treat of the light and fluffy variety. **Contains shonen-ai**


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Warnings: contains hints toward BBxL and shota MxM.

_Well, I wanted to have a story up in celebration of Mother's Day and the month's other holidays as well, but I was really having trouble with it. I had such a build-up of story ideas I found it impossible to concentrate on forming a story of any proper length. I knew that if I kept ignoring those ideas and just letting them float about in my head they would distract me until I got rid of them. So I did :)_

_Thus was created this collection of short-stories. I'm sorry for the bad pacing, but I hope you can find some enjoyment in them nonetheless._

_This is the first time I have included Beyond Birthday in my stories! If you don't know who he is, he's a character in the Death Note Novel: The LA BB Murder Cases. If you haven't read that book already, you need to._

_These stories were really so fun for me. It was a nice change of pace after Face and Games, since this is much calmer and simply relaxing to write. I listened to Rie Fu's beautiful songs while the stories were being created :) I'll write more at the story's end, for this author's note is getting too long._

_L, Mello, Matt, Near, Roger, Wammy's House, and the idea of Death Note belong to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata._

_I'm pretty sure Beyond Birthday belongs to NISIOSIN (as well as Ohba and Obata?)._

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Letters, Riddles, Surprises, & Soup:

_In Which There Are The Following Characters_

L: the world's greatest detective. Within these stories are the adventures which ensue when he visits the institution in which he grew up, Wammy's House. Aged 18 here, he has a craving for sweets and a childish personality enhanced by his young age.

Beyond Birthday (BB): A rather creepy fellow with a liking for strawberry jam and a competitive streak when it comes to L. According to the novel, he is "brilliant and deviant". Aged 17 here.

Mello: 2nd heir to L. Dramatic, emotional, and competitive. Age 8 here.

Matt: 3rd heir to L. Video game addict and usually a rather relaxed fellow. Age 8 here.

Near: 1st heir to L. Usually very serious despite his age, though high fevers can make him a bit delirious. Age 6 here.

(:)

Story 1:

_The Letter "L" _

"So what does 'L' stand for?"

L glanced down as Mello tugged at his shirt, finding the boy's eyes to be gazing back up at him expectantly. The strawberry cake batter he'd been mixing was left temporarily forgotten as he pondered the question, and Mello, impatient for a reply, held up the thumb and first finger of his right hand. "You know, like this! I've seen you do it before. What does it stand for? It's your initial, right?"

"Hmm. I've never considered that question before." Taking the bowl with him he crouched down to the floor, giving Mello easy access to the batter, which he quickly took advantage of as he dipped his finger into it. "I suppose it must mean something…" L formed the letter with his fingers and held it up in front of him, as if seeing it would aid in understanding its meaning.

"It means 'loser'," said BB matter-of-factly, as he popped his head in the kitchen. Mello flinched slightly as he saw him, the stains of strawberry jam around the young man's mouth never failing to startle him.

L's expression shifted to one of bored irritation, narrowing his eyes slightly as he said, "That's _not _what it really stands for Mello-chan." As a precautionary measure when BB made his way over to stand next to them, L hugged the bowl slightly closer to himself. He wasn't going to lose his unfinished cake to that strawberry-fanatic. "It could mean-"

"It could mean 'Luigi'!" said Matt excitedly, throwing himself against L's back as he came into the room. He held a very worn Game Boy in front of the man's face, his fingers working the buttons with the ease of one who could play for hours on end. "See? That's Luigi right there!" He giggled, sticking his tongue out at BB. "_Besides_, 'L' is a capitol letter when you make it with your fingers, so it has to be a proper noun. 'Loser' isn't a proper noun."

" 'Beyond' isn't a proper noun either twit, and neither is 'Birthday', but my name still gets capitalized doesn't it?" BB reached out to flick the boy's forehead with his red-stained fingers, and Matt quickly dodged around his hand to scrunch himself down halfway behind L, pressing himself to the cabinets as he continued with his game.

"Beyond-kun, please don't assault the children, or I'll have to arrest you," said L, bringing the spoon out of the bowl to suck on it as he tried to recollect his thoughts. Two interruptions in a row had quite thoroughly scattered them. BB flopped down beside to sit cross-legged beside him, and after a failed attempt to snatch away the spoon he settled for simply reaching over with his mouth to lick it while it remained in L's hand. With his train of thought finally back on track, L said, "I suppose it means-"

"L," Mello gave a little shriek of frustration as Near appeared in the doorway, holding a box of puzzle pieces in his arms. The boy wore his usual attire of all white clothing, and his expression was as dull as ever. "The toilet is clogged and a lot of my puzzle pieces are missing. I think I know what happened to them…"

All eyes turned in Mello's direction, and the boy gave them a falsely innocent smile. "Why are you all looking at _me_? Why ever would I touch Near's puzzles? How do you know it wasn't Matt? Or…or BB?"

BB laughed darkly. "Oh we all know it couldn't have been _me_, little boy. I would never settle for something so juvenile. Maybe I'd take his puzzle pieces, but flushing them down the toilet? Where's the fun? I'd cut them up into little bits, slowly carving them into the most wonderful little shapes with a knife." He made a motion with the thumb of his right hand against the fist of his left, symbolizing the shearing motion of a blade. Flicking his tongue across his lips and making Mello shiver, he dipped all five of his fingers into the bowl. "Yes. That it is indeed exactly what I would do." The batter dripped down his chin as he attempted to get all his fingers into his mouth at once, and Near sighed heavily from the doorway.

"Mello, I'm going to tell Roger unless you promise to buy me a new one." It was odd to hear such steady words coming from a very young child's mouth, but Near spoke slowly, taking his time and working to pronounce each word correctly. Mello glared at him defiantly.

"Fine! Tell Roger! See if I care, tattle-tale." Mello folded his arms and looked away from him, as if he could truly not care any less about the situation, but as Near walked away with a determined expression upon his face, Mello quickly called after him. "Brat! Jerk! You stupid, fluffy….sheep! I'll get you back!" Near ignored the name-calling, disappearing off down the hall, and Mello began to pout a bit in anticipation. L gave him a disapproving look, making him shrink down even deeper into gloom, and BB, in an odd lanky motion, got up to his feet.

"As much fun as this has been, I'm bored," he cracked his neck and stretched his arms above his head as if trying to dislocate them, before whisking up Matt to place him on his shoulders. "I guess I'll take you with me kid. You're the only one in Wammy's who's any good at House of the Dead 2, and I'm in the mood to blast apart some zombies."

"Yeah, sure, sure," said Matt, resting his arms in BB's hair as he continued with his game. "Just let me finish this level…"

L set down the bowl, which was now a bit lighter than it had once been, and said, "I believe I can finally answer your question, Mello-chan. Now, hold up your hand as an 'L'."

Mello did so curiously, and L carefully reached over to curve the boy's upright first finger into a hook. Creating the same symbol with his own fingers, the young man pressed the tips of their fingers together, forming a lopsided heart.

"I suppose 'L' could mean 'Love'," he said with a small smile.

(:)

Story 2:

_BB's Riddles_

Riddles were one thing Beyond Birthday enjoyed wholeheartedly. There was not a single thing about them he could find to dislike, and that was most likely because he was the best in Wammy's House at not only solving them but creating them as well. It was a great source of amusement for the children in the House, sometimes being given riddles that would keep their minds distracted for days as they tried to discover the answer. Some of them, after multiple failed attempts to solve his riddles, said they were all nonsense and didn't even have answers. This may have been true in some cases, as BB had a rather mischievous mind and would probably have enjoyed seeing the occupants of the House that he didn't like struggle with an "unsolvable" riddle. But that wasn't fair play, and in most cases he insured there was an answer, no matter how cryptic it may have been.

His most common riddle-solvers were Mello, Matt, and Near, the first two often coming every day for a new challenge. Near never requested a riddle; he simply overheard them, by conveniently being in the right place at the right time.

"Alright, how's this one?" said BB, lying upon his stomach on the back of the couch in the common room. "How is a raven like a writing desk?"

Matt sighed. "Aww, but that's an easy one! 'Edgar Allen Poe wrote on both' is the answer."

"I think you've told us that one before," said Mello, pacing in preparation for hard thinking.

"Alright, alright," BB extended his arm above his head and slowly cracked each finger. "Hmmm. Oh, here's one: what has a big mouth but doesn't say a word?"

Matt giggled. "Near does."

"That wasn't funny," said Near, piecing together his puzzle in front of the fireplace. "And you're wrong anyway. It's 'a river'."

"I was going to solve that one!" said Mello furiously. "Give us another one!"

BB smirked, rearranging himself to curve his back off the edge of the couch. "You're in a cold house in the middle of winter. It's dark, and you have one match. In the house is a candle and a wood-burning stove. Which do you light first?"

"The match!" Mello said the answer as quickly as possible.

"More riddles, Beyond-kun?" said L, coming over to peer down at BB as he hung off the couch.

"I never run out," he said, reaching up one foot and curling his toes. "I bet I can think of one you can't solve."

"Oooh, you can't turn down that challenge L!" said Matt excitedly.

"I never turn down any challenge," L walked around to the front of the couch, where he crouched down upon his toes and waited.

BB closed his eyes as he thought, then said, "It's always 1-6, it's always 15-20, it's always 5, but it's never 21 unless it's flying. What is it?"

L cast his eyes toward the ceiling, chewing his thumbnail as he thought. "It's a die."

"You are stuck in a solid room with no windows and no doors. The only things in the room are a mirror and a table. How do you escape?"

Even Near's head perked up as he heard this one. L pulled a bag of cookies from his pocket, examining each one carefully before he ate it. After nearly three minutes of careful consideration, he said, "When you look in the mirror you see what you 'saw' then 'saw' the table in half. The two halves make a 'whole', which I would crawl through and escape out of." BB bolted upright, huffing in exasperation, and L smiled. "You're quite good at this Beyond-kun."

On it went for nearly an hour, Beyond Birthday twisting himself into more and more outrageous positions in his frustration. Before long Near was napping on the rug and Mello and Matt had occupied themselves tying his hair into miniscule knots, when suddenly BB burst into laughter. "I've got it!" he said. "You can't possibly solve this one! Ha!"

"Don't celebrate yet Beyond-kun," said L. "You haven't even given me the riddle."

"How are Beyond Birthday and strawberry jam alike?"

Silence. Complete and utter silence. L frowned, curling his fingers around his knees, while Mello and Matt gave each other stunned looks. Impossible…a riddle L couldn't solve? Surely not…surely it was just taking him longer than usual…but after ten long minutes without a word, during which time BB's grin grew wider and wider, L said at last, "I suppose you've beaten me."

…

It was only later that night, after BB had gone through his day with the sweet sense of victory, that L found him sitting on the House's front steps, eating a his last jar of jam before bed. He came up behind him, reaching over his shoulder to dip his finger in the jam. Licking it off, he said slowly, "The way in which Beyond Birthday and strawberry jam are alike is…L likes them both."

(:)

Story 3:

_The Ns in Alphabet Soup_

"That's it then," Roger shook his head as he looked at the thermometer in his hand. "You're quite sick Near."

Somewhere close by, Mello, having been eavesdropping, burst into a victory cry, yelling, "Ha! Near's sick! Hahaha, he has to stay in bed! Yes!" His elation probably would have gone on lasting throughout the day, had he not run into L going in the opposite direction and been tossed over his shoulder and towed back to Roger's office. There they found Near swaying slightly on his feet, his usually pale face a startling scarlet, his eyes drooping with sleepiness. Roger turned to them as they came in.

"Ah, L, what is it?" he said, picking Near up so the boy's head could rest upon his shoulder. "I was just about to put Near to bed. It seems he has a terrible fever, 103.7 when I checked just now. But what can I do for you?"

"Nothing at all Roger," said L, leaning slightly to the side to compensate for Mello's added weight and constant struggling. "Actually, Mello-chan and I will take care of him for you. You most likely have enough to do already."

"No! I'm _not_ going to take care of Near!" Mello reached up and attempted to yank at L's hair. "He'll get me sick too! I won't! Won't, won't, won't!"

"It seemed you didn't have anything better to do Mello-chan," said L. "Considering you were skipping through the halls singing, and rather off-key I might add. It didn't seem to me you were busy with such a pressing matter that it would require you to neglect Near during his illness."

"Well, there _is_ a great deal of paperwork I still need to get done for the National School Board," said Roger, glancing back at his desk. Papers and folders were scattered all across its usually immaculate service, and the man was indeed looking rather frazzled that day. "If it's not too much trouble for you, I'd truly appreciate you taking care of him."

"Gladly," L cradled Near in his free arm as Roger handed him over, the boy's forehead hot and slightly damp and it came to rest against his neck. "We'll take perfect care of him, won't we Mello-chan?"

"We won't! _I _won't! Put me down!"

Mello's fussing went on throughout the halls and up the stairs, all the way until Near's room was reached and L lay him upon the bed, then put down Mello to sit in the desk chair. "Now," he said, placing his finger upon the boy's chest and pushing until his back was pressed against the chair. "Stay."

He did indeed stay, not quite feeling bold enough to defy L outright, but he made it well known that he wasn't pleased with the situation. The young man ignored him, unbuttoning Near's shirt to take it off before tucking him under the blankets. Near was awake, but barely, and L asked softly, "Is there anything you'd like, Near-chan?"

"I want…milk," he mumbled softly. "Chocolate milk."

L turned to Mello, who had worn himself out by that time and was hunched down in the chair, his arms folded and a miserable pout upon his face. L smiled at him pleasantly, "Some milk for him please, Mello-chan?"

Mello huffed at him as he stomped out of the room, heading back down to the kitchen to pour a glass of milk and stir a tablespoon of chocolate powder into it. By the time he returned to Near's room he found that L had laid a cold cloth over the boy's forehead, and Near had one of the most ridiculous smiles on his face that Mello had ever seen. He hadn't even thought Near was _capable _of smiling.

"Here's your wretched chocolate milk," said Mello, setting the glass down on the desk with as much force as he dared. L helped Near to sit up to drink, but just before he let the glass touch the boy's lips he gave Mello a sharp glance.

"Did you spit in it?" he asked, and Mello's eyes widened. If only he'd thought of that down in the kitchen!

"I didn't," he said. "Thank you ever so much for trusting me and all."

Near had only taken a few miniscule sips before he pulled away, wincing. "There's too much chocolate."

"What? Are you crazy?!" Mello would have shaken him if L hadn't been there, and as it was he had to exercise a great deal of self-control to keep himself back. "I hardly put any! Only a tablespoon!"

"Needs…needs _a third_," said Near, holding up two fingers bizarrely as his head rolled to the side as if the bones in his neck were no longer of any use. Mello clenched his teeth and he glanced over at L.

"I think he's finally snapped," he said. "After all, hasn't it been pretty clear for a while now that he isn't right in the head?"

"Mello-chan," L's voice was disapproving. "He's simply a little delirious from the fever. Just get him new milk, with one third a tablespoon of chocolate."

"Are you kidding?"

"_Go_."

Mello was surprised when the glass didn't crack in his hand on the way down. He was gripping it so hard his knuckles turned white, and he grumbled the whole while he was refilling the glass and all the way back up the stairs. The repetitive climbing was beginning to get a bit tiring, but his hopes for a brief rest before Near made some other silly request were destroyed when he entered the bedroom to be greeted by, "Near wants alphabet soup."

Oh, _alphabet _soup was it? So other soups just weren't good enough? Did he perhaps want it cooked to a specific temperature? Stirred a certain number of times? Mello went back down to the kitchen with his temper positively burning…and there, oh so conveniently, was Beyond Birthday eating his strawberry jam at the table.

"BB! I need you to cook something for me!" said Mello, latching onto the young man's arm to get his attention. "Near is being a brat again and wants alphabet soup, and L is actually _making_ me get it for him!" BB stuck out his lower lip in sarcastic sympathy, and Mello glared at him. "This is serious! I want something nasty in that soup! Something nasty enough to snap him right out of his fever!"

BB stroked his jam covered fingers along his chin in thought, then got to his feet and headed to the pantry. "Alphabet soup is it?" he said, taking out a can then getting a pot from the cupboards. "Normally I'd recommend you put in a few needles to give him a nice sharp surprise, but…in this case…" He opened the refrigerator, reaching in to pull out a jar of tiny red peppers. "…I think these will do just fine. They'll sink to the bottom of the bowl, and these ones are small enough for him to probably not see them if he gets one in his spoon."

Mello grinned eagerly, and within a few minutes the soup had been warmed and put into a bowl, five peppers dropped in to sink below the surface. Mello clung to BB's back as they went back upstairs to deliver the meal, since Beyond Birthday certainly didn't want to miss his prank in action, and L didn't look the least bit surprised to see them arrive together.

"Did you enlist Beyond-kun's help to make this Mello-chan?" he said, as he took the soup into his hands. Both BB and Mello nodded quickly.

"He was already there, and since I can't use the stove by myself I asked him to help," said Mello. "Hopefully it turned out…alright…" He paused in anticipation as L offered a spoonful to Near, holding his breath as he waited for the boy to open his mouth…any second now…any moment….

"I don't want the Ns."

Mello's mouth dropped open. Near was shaking his head as he examined the contents of the spoon, and poked at one of the noodle Ns with his finger. "I don't want them."

L slowly turned back toward them, his expression somewhat apologetic. "Perhaps…you could…?"

Back down stairs, into the kitchen, and out came a bowl and strainer. Mello drained out the broth himself, since BB refused to help, and then began the tedious task of picking out every N before pouring the remaining noodles back into the bowl, reheating it in the microwave, and making the return journey back upstairs. Beyond Birthday accompanied him again, hoping to see the ensuing panic this time around, and he wasn't disappointed…though things did not proceed as expected…

"It doesn't look very good," said Near, and he saw the soup once more. Mello was mere seconds away from a full-blown explosion of frustration, when L turned to him, holding out the spoon.

"Look, Near-chan, it's perfectly good. Mello likes it," L nodded toward Mello in such a way that clearly meant "Show him you like it", and Mello paled. He knew he could see a hint of something red in that spoonful L was offering.

BB gave him a light push in the back, beginning to have to stifle his laughter with his hands, and Mello went forward as if walking to his execution. He licked his lips nervously, opened his mouth…

…

"I guess bad karma really comes around doesn't it?" said Matt thirty minutes later, giggling as he watched Mello desperately trying to cool off his mouth with glass after glass of ice water, his eyes still watering slightly from the spicy taste. L came out of the kitchen with a fudgsicle to take the water's place, and Mello pressed it miserably against his burned tongue as he sulked upon the couch. Near had gone to sleep at last, putting an end to his requests at least for the time being, so L had joined the two boys downstairs, after watching Mello dash from Near's room panting only seconds after his disastrous soup tasting, with BB's laughter seeing him off. He took a seat upon the couch beside the little prankster and reached over to pet his hair in a pitying way…as much as Mello had deserved what he got.

"It was all BB's idea," he said bitterly, his speech muffled by the popsicle. "He _wanted _to put in needles but I told him not to."

"Of course. You're always looking out for Near's safety after all," said L, and Mello gave him a weak glare before crawling over to curl up against his chest.

"Well, at least you got back at BB for it," said Matt, noticing his mistake only when he saw L's suspicious look. Still, suspicious or not, there was little he could do at that point. Beyond Birthday was already in the kitchen about to take his first mouthful of a before-lunch snack of strawberry jam, and he utterly failed to detect the sweet stuff's faint spicy scent.

After all, he certainly couldn't _see _anything wrong with it. Red peppers blend in wonderfully with strawberries.

(:)

Story 4:

_The Antics Of A doorMatt And marshMello_

Friends do not always appear to be thus. In fact, there are some friends who at times seem as if they aren't friends at all. As if they never were, certainly aren't now, and never will be in the future. As if there was nothing on earth they hated more than each other.

If you'd like an example of two such people, in Wammy's House there was-

"Matt! Wait!"

"No! I'm telling! I'm telling Roger and you're going to get in trouble! I'm telling, I'm telling, I'm telling!"

A blur of red hair flew up the House's front steps and burst through the doors, tearing down the hallway at a speed certainly not appropriate for the indoors. Mello was close behind, making an attempt to tackle the boy in front of him as they rounded a corner, sending them both down and causing them to skid across the floor and crash against the wall. Matt immediately began to squirm away, insuring his escape with a few well-placed slaps to Mello's head before running off again, shouting, "Roger! Mello's done something _bad_!"

"I haven't!" Mello called after him. "Liar! You aren't allowed to tell lies, door_Matt_."

Matt gasped, coming to a sudden halt and whirling around to face his pursuer with a furious glare. "Take that back!"

Mello smirked, putting his hands on his hips in a cocky pose. "Nooope," he said in a singsong voice. "Why don't you _make _me?"

"Because there's no fightingallowed either, marsh_Mello_."

"Ooooh, nice comeback!" Both boys turned in surprise to find Beyond Birthday leaning against the wall behind them, watching with a wide grin upon his face. He cracked his neck, then left his head to hand oddly to the side as he went on. "Do something more interesting next. How about something bloody? Fistfight maybe?"

"Mello threw my GameBoy in the pond!" Matt said quickly, jabbing an accusing finger in Mello's direction.

"But Matt threw in all my chocolate afterwards!"

"Something that happened after isn't an excuse for what happened _before_," said Matt. "I was getting you back!"

"Wait a moment, wait, wait," BB held up one hand for silence. "There's only one way to settle this. We'll just have to see which one of you is more determined to win your petty fight."

"It isn't petty!" snapped Mello.

"Here's an idea," said BB. "I have a challenge for the two of you, and whoever fails first loses. Here it is: neither of you can show any surprise. I'll be watching you, and even if you widen your eyes just a bit I'll consider it an automatic loss. Mello, if you lose that challenge before Matt, you have to buy him a new GameBoy."

Mello waved his hand dismissively. "That's easy stuff."

"As for you, Matt, if you lose the challenge before Mello, you have to buy him twice as much chocolate as he had before."

Matt shrugged. "It isn't a very hard challenge BB. I expected…I don't know, something a little more deviant from you."

"Oh, believe me, these won't be so easy as you think," BB crouched down to their eye level, cocking his head disturbingly far to the opposite side he had it on before and giving them a toothy smile. "You must both try to sabotage each other during the challenge, though you're not allowed to cause each other pain. You must use shock value only. Of course," he got to his feet again with a sigh, "you could just go back to running to Roger and telling on each other. You'll probably both end up in trouble and neither of you will get your things back. And I'll _also _have to assume you rejected the challenge because you were afraid of losing…"

"We'll do it!" both Matt and Mello said at the same moment, and BB tapped his fingertips together happily.

"Excellent. Then the challenge begins…now."

Mello and Matt both had plenty of shocking ideas in mind, and the House was, to say the least, far from itself that day because of it. BB was perfectly satisfied watching as the chaos unfolded, while the two boys delved deeper and deeper into the weird and unexpected in attempts to shock each other. They both remained resilient to each other's antics, though by the end of the day they were really struggling. With sleepiness setting in and their anger fading, by dinner time both of them were ready to stop. Of course neither of them could simply give in, and their attempts became more desperate than ever.

"Just give it up Matt," said Mello, standing with pink bunny ears nestled in his hair and whiskers drawn across his face. His opponent glared back at him stubbornly, his shirt off and brightly colored wild designs scrawled across his chest in marker ink.

"As if I'd _let _you win," said Matt. "There shouldn't even be a competition. You didn't have any right to ruin my GameBoy!"

"How else was I supposed to get your attention? You always ignored me for that game and I was sick of it. If I want your attention, I'd better get it!"

Matt wracked his mind for fresh ideas, and Mello dashed off to disappear into the kitchen. Matt cautiously peered in after him, to find him smothering himself in whipped cream and drizzling chocolate syrup across his shoulders. It took all Matt's willpower to keep his face blank.

Then, suddenly, an idea sprang to his mind. By that point he was willing to try anything, and he knew Mello couldn't possibly not react to _this_. He took a deep breath, bracing himself, and made his way across the room, while BB watched carefully from the doorway, positively ecstatic at the day's bizarre events.

Mello frowned at him suspiciously as he approached, beginning to attempt to inch his way around him out of the room before Matt managed to corner him against the cabinets. "BB, Matt's cheating!" Mello said. "He's going to cheat; you said no hurting each other! You said no-"

He cut off with a small squeak as Matt hooked one arm around his waist and captured his wrist with his free hand. He struggled to maintain the calmest expression he possibly could, but why was Matt getting so close to him? This was without a doubt a terrible invasion of personal space…

"Mello," Matt said sternly, trying not to feel ridiculous as whipped cream dripped onto his arms. "I want a new GameBoy."

He leaned forward as Mello's eyes widened and pressed their lips together in a childish kiss, their noses ending up squished against each other due to Matt's complete lack of experience in kissing techniques. Certainly a kiss straight-on was not desirable for a romantic atmosphere, but it worked in that particular situation. Mello looked so shocked there could be no doubt whatsoever about who had won the challenge. Beyond Birthday's mouth had dropped open, and he was far too distracted to notice as L came up beside him, carrying Near on his back.

"I'm rather concerned for your choice in hobbies Beyond-kun," said L dryly. "You couldn't have taken up bird-watching?"

BB shook his head. "I'm nothing but a poor bystander in this situation. I had _nothing _to do with it."

At the sound of L's voice Matt had been quick to put distance between he and Mello, his face turning bright red. As for Mello, he seemed quite unable to move, frozen against the cabinets. "He…he…" he began to attempt to gasp out a few words. "L…Matt tried to…to…"

L tipped his curiously. "He tried to what?"

"To suffocate me!" Mello said at last. "Matt tried to suffocate me! Didn't you see him? He _attacked _me!"

Matt glared. "I did _not_. That was called a kiss, stupid, and it didn't hurt you either. You lost the challenge."

"There was a challenge?" said L, and BB quickly buried his head in the fridge, looking through his identical jars of jam as if there was a specific one he wanted.

"BB suggested it," said Matt. "And he said we had to try to sabotage each other. I was just following the rules."

Mello was practically howling in protest. "No! You weren't following the rules, you were trying to suffocate me!" And of course now that he had suggested it he had to cling to that belief. After all, there was no way he could _possibly _have lost unless Matt had cheated. Besides, acknowledging that Matt had kissed him had a terrible unpleasantness to it, and he would never admit to it. Never _ever_.

"Well I can see how you came to that conclusion, Mello," said L, with all the solemnity of a school teacher explaining the process of photosynthesis. "Matt-chan clearly has no idea how to kiss someone, though he wasn't harming you. To be truthful…" he paused a moment, looking over their red faces and listening to their stuttering breaths. "I would say neither of you minded it at all." At that Mello stomped his feet, practically hopping in frustration.

"You're just a sore loser," said Matt, turning away from him and hoping his face would stop feeling so hot.

"Try tipping your head next time Matt-chan," said L. "It helps to avoid your noses colliding."

"There won't be a next time!" said Mello. "This isn't a reoccurring event!" He sighed heavily, folding his arms and grumbling, wishing he could direct the subject away from himself.

"How would you know how to kiss, L?" said Near, clearly unable to imagine how the young man could ever have possibly kissed someone enough to know the right way to do it.

"Oh, I've had practice," L said simply. Strangely, all three boys' heads immediately turned in Beyond Birthday's direction, and BB paused with two fingers in his jam jar.

"What are you looking at _me _for?" he said quickly. "The challenge is over so why don't you all just…disperse. You'll make me claustrophobic."

In conclusion, I suppose it's safe to say Mello and Matt were the perfect example of a chaotic friendship – and that's even when overlooking bunny ears, whipped cream, and drawings on one's chest. They could hate each other for days on end, but it would never last. For of course, by the next morning, both of them were feeling rather curious…what might that kiss have been like if Matt had tipped his head?

(:)

The End:

_Constellations_

"I think I found the Little Dipper," said Mello uncertainly, gazing up at the night sky and then down at the paper in his hand, on which was a checklist of constellations. "Is that it right there L?" He pointed back up into the sky. "That little clump of stars?"

L nodded, and Mello triumphantly checked the box next to "Little Dipper" on the paper, a signal for Matt to do the same though he certainly wasn't looking at the sky. Near was sitting close by looking sleepy, his checklist already completed, tired enough that he wasn't noticing as BB streaked jam through his hair. It was past 11 o' clock, far past the usual bedtime for all three of the younger boys, though Matt was used to late hours, often staying up for all-night gaming sessions. Still, with no video games to occupy him this time, even he was starting to drift off to sleep as he rested his head on L's lap.

"You need your sleep Mello-chan," said L, watching as the boy struggled to focus on the stars overhead. "Your mind can't work properly if you deprive it of rest."

"But Near already finished," said Mello, rubbing his eyes as he tried to stay awake. "I need to finish too…"

"This assignment isn't due for three days," said L. "You have plenty of time." Holding Matt in one arm he picked up Mello with the other, then looked over to BB, who had managed to spike Near's hair into a sticky mess by that time. "Beyond-kun, bring him along would you?"

"But I'm not sleepy," said Mello, an entirely useless statement considering he could hardly keep his eyes open. BB picked Near up with an expression of disgust, as if carrying a child was one of the most vile things he could possibly be doing. Matt was already asleep with his head lying against L's shoulder, and by the time they were back indoors even Mello had closed his eyes and was breathing easy.

...

"Adeona is quite visible tonight," said BB, after the three boys were in their beds. He and L were standing in the downstairs hallway, gazing out one of the windows as L finished off a small slice of cake before bed.

"It is indeed," he said. "Perhaps it's a good omen."

BB's expression was skeptical. "You're not superstitious are you?"

"I cannot overlook the possibility of supernatural power and superstitious truth," said L, shrugging. "Perhaps in this case it's more of a hope. After all, the Roman goddess Adeona was a protector of children. It's rather nice to think they're being watched over even when I can't be here."

* * *

_At the story's end, BB was referring to 145 Adeona, a large Main belt asteroid. It was named after the Roman goddess Adeona, who was said to protect children the first time they left their parent's home._

_Considering the nature of these stories, I couldn't allow Beyond Birthday to be too creepy, which presented quite a bit of difficulty for me. But after all, he couldn't always have been a killer. At one time he was just a kid too:)_

_I am aware that, according to the Death Note one-shot chapter recently released, L never actually visited Wammy's House or met Mello, Near, and Matt in person. I'm also aware that in the Death Note novel, Mello says he was able to meet L at some point, and in that way learned the story of the murder cases. However I adore the idea of L having a close relationship with the boys._

_Once again, I simply consider L's use of honorifics to be part of the way he speaks, since he uses them even in the translated manga._

_BB's riddles (except the last one) were found in various sites around the web, since I can't think up riddles on my own. Maybe that first riddle will be familiar to you._


End file.
